United Democratic Party of the Gambia

The United Democratic Party (UDP) is a social democratic political party in The Gambia, founded in 1996 by human rights lawyer Ousainou Darboe. The UDP, a member of Socialist International, opposed the conservative government of Yahya Jammeh, who exercised near-dictatorial powers in the country from 1994 to 2017, and it joined Coalition 2016 for the December 2016 presidential election. Adama Barrow was chosen as the party's candidate after Darboe was imprisoned, and Barrow won the election; he took office on 21 January 2017 after a West African invasion forced Jammeh to flee the country. The UDP would free Darboe from prison, and it restored democracy to the Gambia.